Reports in Spain say that Tito Vilanova has had to leave his role as head coach of Barcelona after falling ill.

According to reports coming out of Spain, Tito Vilanova has suffered a recurrence of his cancerous tumor and has therefore had to step down as the manager of Barcelona.

The 44-year-old tactician had an operation in November 2011 to have a tumor removed from his parotid gland when he was the assistant to head coach Pep Guardiola, but was thought to be in good health ever since.

After the successful operation Vilanova eventually took the reigns at Camp Nou when Guardiola stepped down at the end of last season, and the new boss has enjoyed a wonderful start to his Catalan career by sitting atop La Liga with a massive nine-point advantage over closest rivals Atletico Madrid.

But today Spanish television channel Cuatro has reported that Vilanova has had to temporarily leave his role as head coach after falling ill once more.

According to the reports, the club have already spoken to their preferred candidate to take over at the helm until Vilanova has recovered from his illness, but no decision has been made as of yet.

The Spanish giants usually hold a press conference every Wednesday morning, but today’s press conference has been cancelled.